Experts say 301M trees die from 2011 Texas drought

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (AP) - An updated ground and aerial survey indicates about 301 million trees have died in rural Texas because of the 2011 drought.

The Texas A&M Forest Service said Tuesday that the figure comes from an examination of hundreds of forested plots statewide.

The Texas agency last December announced a preliminary estimate of up to 500 million trees killed by the drought.

The three-month extended review used ground inspections and before-and-after satellite images. The findings represent trees in rural, forested areas that died from drought, insect infestation or disease due to drought stress.

The 301 million figure does not include trees that died in cities and towns. Experts earlier this year determined another 5.6 million trees in urban areas died as a result of the devastating drought.

___

Online:

http://txforestservice.tamu.edu/main/default.aspx

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Online Public Information File

Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or fccinfo@fcc.gov.